Japan launches new biofuel made from rice

October 5th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Indian scientists claim to have developed a rice variety that requires no cooking, only soaking in water. The rice variety developed at the government-run Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) at Cuttack in Orissa is characterized by low amylase content and becomes soft on soaking in water, institute director Tapan Kumar Adhya told IANS in an interview.

October 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian rice exporters Thursday dismissed reports that Iran had banned an Indian basmati rice variety after finding it contaminated, and said exports to that country were still continuing. "So far we have not received any official communication from the government of Iran or from the Indian embassy regarding the ban on Indian rice.

August 18th, 2009 Michigan researchers look at rutabagas for biofuelDETROIT — Researchers at Michigan State University are working to turn the rutabaga into an oil-producing powerhouse that could make the turnip-like vegetable a better source of biofuel than other food crops. The idea is that the rutabaga, which stores oil in its seeds like some other biofuel crops, could be genetically modified to churn out more oil and store it throughout the plant.

July 28th, 2009 Election won't alter Japan-US alliance: CommanderTOKYO — The top commander for U.S. troops in Japan brushed off any possible doubts Tuesday about the durability of the U.S.-Japan security alliance, even if next month's parliamentary elections put a different party in power.

July 8th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government Wednesday launched a food security scheme to provide rice at Rs.2 and Re.1 a kilogram and free salt to 3.7 million families. The new scheme has replaced the Chief Minister's Food Assistance Scheme under which rice was supplied at Rs.3 a kilogram.

July 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States Saturday called North Korea's "possible" missile launches "not helpful" but stopped short of confirming them or calling them a violation of UN sanctions. "We're waiting until we have all the facts about the violation," State Department press officer Karl Duckworth told DPA.

July 4th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea fired its seventh missile from its eastern coast Saturday, the South Korean defence ministry said, as Pyongyang raised tension in the Korean peninsula. The missiles, with a range of 400 to 500 km, were fired over the Sea of Japan, the ministry said.

July 4th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea fired six missiles from its eastern coast Saturday, the South Korean defence ministry said. The missiles, with a range of 400 to 500 km, were fired over the Sea of Japan between 8 a.m.

July 4th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea fired five more missiles off its east coast Saturday, according to South Korean media reports. The missiles, apparently Scud rockets, were fired over the Sea of Japan, the Yonhap national news agency said citing government sources.

July 4th, 2009 SEOUL - South Korea's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that North Korea had test-fired three missiles, further stoking tensions in the international community, which continues to berate Pyongyang for its nuclear ambitions. The firing of the missiles, reported to have a range of up to 500 kilometres (312 miles), follow a series of missile launches earlier this week by North Korea.

May 28th, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has urged the government to review its ethanol policy to encourage more sugar producers to start producing biofuel on a commercial scale.

May 5th, 2009 NEW YORK - A question from a ten-year-old school student forced former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to defend the Bush administration's interrogation methods on Gitmo detainees. Rice told primary school pupils in Washington that the Bush administration did not use illegal interrogation tactics.

March 17th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh's existing Rs.3 per kg rice scheme for 3.7 million families was to be converted into a Rs.2 per kg scheme from April 1 but the plans have been put on hold with the model code of conduct in place for Lok Sabha polls, officials said Tuesday. The Rs.3 per kg rice scheme was launched on April 1, 2007 and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government last month announced that it will reduce the price to mark two years of successful implementation of the programme.

February 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India and the US signed an agreement for cooperation in production and marketing of biofuels here Tuesday. As per a government release, the agreement's purpose 'is to establish a framework of cooperation covering scientific, technical and policy aspects of production, conversion, utilisation, distribution and marketing of biofuels in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner'.

January 20th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will spend a whopping Rs.1,440 crore (Rs.14.4 billion) next fiscal to provide rice at Rs.2 a kilogram to about 3.7 million families. Of these, some 70,000 families will get it at Re.1.